EU Protection boosts Northern Irish Whiskey producers
Northern Irish Whiskey producers will benefit from new regulations introduced by the Republic of Ireland's Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Simon Coveney.
Irish Whiskey, Irish Poitin and Irish Cream are protected 'Geographical Indications' under European Law. This means that they must be produced on the Island of Ireland in accordance with strict technical specifications notified to European Commission.
In addition to Old Bushmills in county Antrim, Northern Ireland, the region has an emerging cluster of whiskey distilleries and is a major producer of Irish Cream Liqueur. Recent whiskey launches in Northern Ireland include Echlinville Distillery's Dunville from Kircubbin in county Down and The Quiet Man by Niche Drinks in county Derry. Niche is also a market leader in Irish Cream Liqueurs including Saint Brendan's.
In addition, Belfast Distillery (BDC) is building a new distillery in the old Crumlin Road Gaol in Belfast. BDC has revived the old McConnell's whiskey brand and also has Titanic and Danny Boy brands in its portfolio. Around 60 per cent of Bailey's Original Irish Cream is also made at the Diageo plant in Newtownabbey, county Antrim.
Referring to the new regulations, Minister Coveney said: "These regulations provide critically important protection for Irish companies in the developing Irish Spirit Drinks sector, which has ambitious plans to establish a number of new distilleries to meet the growing demand worldwide."
He added: "In the last decade, Irish Whiskey exports grew by almost 200 per cent and the sector employs over 750 people. In 2014, close to seven million cases of Irish Whiskey were exported to over 100 countries. Exports are set to exceed 12 million cases by 2020 and 24 million cases by 2030. Three years ago, the island of Ireland had four distilleries in operation - in the next three years that number could grow to over 20. I am confident that this success can be replicated in other spirit drinks products."
The new regulations introduce strong enforcement powers to ensure that spirit drinks labelled with these protected designations are manufactured in Ireland in accordance with the approved technical specification. The designations cannot be used on products manufactured elsewhere in the EU. The regulations also apply to a range of other protected spirit drinks manufactured within the EU.
The minister added "These regulations mean that inferior products or those that do not share the uniquely Irish heritage of these protected Geographical Indications cannot be sold as Irish Whiskey, Irish Poitin or Irish Cream. They can help to protect the reputation and integrity of these products, but also to protect Irish jobs. From a consumer perspective, they will also give assurance to customers, at home and abroad, of the quality of the unique spirit products they are consuming."